pumpkins Archives - MarriedtotheFarm

Fake Mums? Realistic Looking Fall Flowers

In keeping with my farm girl lifestyle, I grow food. I’m a decent gardener… but I only grow things I can eat! I’m pretty clueless about flowers. My mama tried, but I just haven’t had much free time in my adult life (can’t imagine why!?) and growing pretty things hasn’t been a priority. I have enough other living things that count on me to keep them alive, lol. However, this year I splurged on hanging baskets for the front porch. I asked for the ones that were hardest to kill and required the least amount of watering. Whatever I ended up with did fairly well – and they REALLY brightened up the look of our front porch. So much so, in fact, that I started to wonder about mums. They look festive, but I really did fail at watering my summer baskets and mums are kind of expensive to buy if I’m just going to kill them right away. That led me to google “fake mums”. *This post may contain affiliate links that help support my content here.* I found some very realistic looking ones, but oh the price! In addition to not being able to kill my fall flowers,

September 22, 2009 corn / dogs / fall / pumpkins

Fall Festival: Gone to the Dogs

Now it’s your turn! I’d love to hear all about how you and your family amuse yourselves as the seasons change. Do you have special activities that you do with your kids? Are there certain movies that you watch during the fall? Do you have fall crafts, games, books or field trips that you enjoy? Share your favorite autumn vacation spots at Daily Dwelling. Today’s theme is all about fun. For me, the fun part of fall is feathering my nest by doing the things I shared yesterday. I also enjoy decorating my porch. I set out pumpkins and tie cornstalks to the porch posts. Dressing up is fun too, although I don’t always do that now that I’m a little older. Last year I went up to the bar dressed as a hippie. It was great because I love to people watch and I could do a lot of it with those big glasses on! For us, for now, our dogs are like our kids. So, one of the best parts about fall is watching them play and have fun. Good luck trying to rake with them around!

March 8, 2009 challenges / chickens / cleaning / fire / fruit trees / garden / Git 'Er Done 2009 / pears / planting / pumpkins / to-do lists / updates

Git ‘Er Done 2009

As many of you know, Brian & I bought his family’s farm around Labor Day of 2007. We’ve been working on the house and yard since the early spring of that year, even before we bought it. Things are far from finished as we start 2009, and I don’t want to deal with this again in 2010. I’ve made a detailed list, room by room, of what projects need to be completed this year. I first posted about all this work in this post. I wanted to share my list but wasn’t sure how to set it up. After reading over at Green Resolutions I really like the way she sets up her checklist and shows updates. I’ve decided to use a similar format for my project list. Thanks for the inspiration GR! I’m going to title this segment “Git ‘Er Done 2009”. This will mostly be for my benefit, to keep me motivated and accountable. I’ll try to include some before and after pictures and maybe even offer some good how-to advice. I avoid debt like the plague so these will all be pay as you go projects. Feel free to read along. If you would like to join

December 9, 2008 christmas / pumpkins / recipe / walnuts

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Abbie over at Farmer’s Daughter is hosting a Christmas Cookie Recipe Swap! I’m excited to check out everyone recipes. Here’s my first contribution. Pumpkin Pie SquaresRecipe taken from Farm Journal’s Best-Ever Cookies by Patricia A. Ward. 1 c. sifted flour1/2 c. quick-cooking oats1/2 c brown sugar, packed1/2 c. butter1 (16-oz.) can mashed pumpkin (2 c.) <—-2 c. was most of a bigger can for me, not sure about that1 (13.5-oz.) can evaporated milk2 eggs3/4 c. sugar1 tsp. ground cinnamon1/2 tsp. salt1/2 tsp. ground ginger1/2 tsp. ground cloves1/2 c. chopped pecans1/2 c. brown sugar, packed2 Tbs. butter Combine flour, oats, 1/2 c. brown sugar and 1/2 c. butter in bowl. Mix until crumbly, using electric mixer at low speed. Press dough into bottom and 1/2″ up sides of ungreased 13x9x2″ baking pan. Bake in 350 degree (F) over 16 minutes.Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves in bowl. Beat well, using rotary beater. Pour into baked crust.Bake in 350 degree (F) oven 20 minutes.Combine pecans, 1/2 c. brown sugar and 2 Tbs. butter; sprinkle over pumpkin filling. Return to oven and bake 15 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool in pan on rack. Cut into 2

October 24, 2008 farming / local / pumpkins / sugar / wal-mart

I Used to Love Wal-Mart

Yup, I used to love it. I remember when they opened a Super Wal-Mart about 20 miles away from where I grew up. It was the new cool place to go. After all, they were open 24 hours. That was when I was just starting to do my own grocery shopping and buy my own stuff. I would always get nervous at the checkout trying to organize my coupons and find my debit card, and I remember more than once having to put something back because I had miscalculated and gone over my meager budget. For all those reasons and more, my favorite time to shop was the middle of the night. I would go to bed early and get up at 3 or 4 to go. Besides, you couldn’t beat the traffic. I remember getting e-mails way back then encouraging me to “boycott” Wal-mart because of their crappy treatment of workers. I even read a great book in which the author experimentally tries to live on the wages she makes working for Wal-mart. That was awhile ago but I remember liking the book and would recommend it if you’re interested in such topics. I’m still not sure that I